Yatri Nivas to be finally opened on December 30

After missing several deadlines, Yatri Nivas, the guest house for devotees near Kollidam river here, finally began its booking services. The facility will be opened to the public on December 30, ahead of the vaikunta ekadasi festival that is expected to draw huge crowds.

Visitors can now book rooms using the Srirangam temple website from Tuesday. Although the premises were inaugurated several months ago by former chief minister J Jayalalithaa, the booking facility was not launched until now.

As vaikunta ekadasi celebrations are slated to begin next week and will go on till the middle of next month, lakhs of devotees are expected to visit the temples to see the deity. However, with few places for decent accommodation near the temple, many of them were forced to stay in the city in expensive hotels. According to temple sources, the guest house has 1,000 rooms. Visitors can choose between four kinds of rooms, at a minimum rate of Rs 100 a day. A double non-AC room will cost Rs 500, and a double AC room Rs 750. Cottages, with two rooms and a reception, will cost Rs 1,750 per night. A 10-person dormitory is available for Rs 1,000, besides individual dormitories. They can book rooms through the website .

Temple authorities said that the website will go live from December 30 and people check the availability and book rooms online. Devotees can also come in person to the temple and book from the office. The public works department began the construction of yatri nivas in 2011, and completed it in one and a half years at a cost of Rs 43 crore. The structure stands on a sprawling 6.48-acre campus, with the capacity to accommodate more than 900 people.

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